Grassroots Support

[My son sent me an email to be posted here. I will not link to the site he describes for rather obvious reasons.]

Hello fellow readers of the Boulevard.

Many apologies for the lack of posts in the past several months. I call Gaius all the time and say, "I'm thinking about writing about [insert news item]." He says to send him something, and invariably a mission comes up or a sporting event comes on television, etc. The point is, I've been awful at communication of my thoughts and opinions. While that may be a relief to some, many of you have been very supportive of my situation and for that you deserve my thanks. No promises of future content, but I'll try to work on it a bit more. If you have any questions you want answered please leave it in a comment. I'll tell you anything I can (some questions I can't answer because of security concerns).

My post today involves the myspace phenomenon. Whatever your feelings on the website that purports to be "a place for friends," I'll admit that it's a handy way to keep in touch with and rediscover old friends. Today a friend pointed out a group on myspace that is anything but friendly, a veritable slap in the face to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces. In a search, the name of this group shows up as "Hug the Troops," but upon clicking the link one finds a giant yellow ribbon with the words "F*** the Troops" on it. There follows several anti-U.S. videos borrowed from YouTube and a line of text accusing U.S. troops of being "responsible for the slaughterings [sic] around the world." I am sad to report that at the time of this writing, this group had 109 members.

By and large, the people of the United States have shown overwhelming support for the military, something those of us in uniform speak of often and with a touch of awe. After my first tour I visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. wearing my military garb. I felt like a celebrity, with so many requests for photos that my planned one-hour stay ended up closer to three. When I arrived at the airport with five fellow soldiers for R&R leave last summer, we were treated to a completely spontaneous standing ovation from a very crowded terminal. Soldiers need this kind of grassroots support in a conflict such as this one, where politics and negative media coverage have overshadowed the accomplishments and sacrifices made by those in the military. To those who support us, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. To those who wish failure and tragedy upon us, we have no use for you. As long as you are a U.S. citizen we will staunchly defend your right to say as you will as it is enumerated in the First Amendment. We will defend your right to burn the flag and trash the United States publicly. We ask only that you remember there are very few places in the world where such things are allowed.

Oh, there's one final part to this story. The item that brought this group to my attention was a bulletin posted calling for a petition to have this group removed from the site. First Amendment or not, such a message board should not exist in "a place for friends." I'm pleased to report to you that I added my own virtual signature to the list, which has nearly 800 names on it. Count it. An eight to one advantage.

Thank you for your support, America.

UPDATE: Thanks to Hugh Hewitt for the link. Visitors, please do take a look around while you're here. If you have not already signed the pledge, please consider doing so. More posts from my son are under the "Foreign Correspondence" category on the sidebar.

UPDATE: Thanks also to KT at the Scratching Post and the good doctor at the Jawa Report for the links. Thanks also to The Influence Peddler.

they may have 109 members however the members of the your club (those who support the troops with no condition) number in the millions. Thank you for your service and God Bless the United States of America.

God Bless you, boy! Please stay safe—this grandmother raising my autistic grandson to revere sacrifice and duty
will let him read your words of courage(with a couple of edits, after all, he’s only 5) but, it is important for him
to know why we pray for all the soldiers every night. Every person I know stands behind you 100%. Godspeed and grace to
all the men and women who serve.

God bless your son and all the rest who carry on the great mission. The Tree of Liberty that sprouted here, needs brave souls and willing men and women to transplant saplings around the world. Sadly, it takes the blood of heroes and villians to grow, but the fruit is happiness, opportunity, and peace to millions. Please, let him know there are thousands of us wishing we could do more to support and encourage them in their efforts. I only wish I was a little younger and hadn’t retired… I would be at his back and watching.

Thank you for posting your son’s e-mail. I support him and the other brave men and women who are serving our country. I served in the Navy Reserve and know the high caliber of people who wear the uniform. Although I am now retired, I am with you in spirit and purpose and I pray for our victory and all of our sons’ and daughters’safe return home. God bless you!

sick world that lets these blind crackpots not see the great divide between the moral high ground america stands upon and the lowlife scum baby killers they support and as such represent. a pox on this alien species of muslims.

young man you and your comrades are heroes each and every one and this canadian has nothing but admiration for the us of a.

I support our troops 100% and keep them in my prayers . For the person with a 5 year old autistic grandson . I would encourge you to check on Liquid Zoelite. This will remove mercury from the body that is beleaved to be the cause of autistism. I have a 4 year old great grandson that has been helped by this product.